Running-gear for aeroplanes.



F. MGGARROLL. RUNNING GEAR FOR AEROPLANES.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 12, 1913.

1 ,097,8 1 6. a nt d May 26, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

lXh tmwoeo 6 F. MGOARROLL. EUNNING GEAR FOR AEROPLANES. APPLICATION FILED MAY 12, 1913.

Patented May 26, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.-

' a citizen, of the United. States, residing at.

- the machines.

FRANK mccxnnou, or DALLAS, TEXAS.

RUNNING-GEAR non Annornanns.

v Specification of Letters Patent. Application filedllay 12; 1913. Serial No. 767,008.

Patented May 26, 1914.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, FRANK MGCARROIL,

Dallas, in the county of Dallas, Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Running-Gears for Aeroplanes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to supporting de-- vices for flying machines, and has particu- 10 lar referehceto a running gear for aeroplanes. v I .As at present constructed, aeroplanes'of the several different types are necessarily -provided with landing devices or so-called running-gears for supporting the frames of the machines above the ground, and for permitting safe and gradual landings of gears which are wheel supported, the machines can run along the ground in starting until a suitable momentum has been attained for elevating the machine, and, in alighting, a gradual stop can be made after the machine has reached the ground. However, as important as these running gears are on amachine in landing and starting, they are a useless factor, and detrimental appendage, once the machine has risen intd the air, and little attentidn has been paid to them'in their relatidn t6 the final efliciency of the aeroplane. In almost every case, therunnin'g gears are.,rigidly depending structures, of such bulky and cumbersome .construction, that they create a eat head resistance, or, in orderto avoi the last mentioned objection are made so light and inefficient as. to render them dangerous for use as alighting devices.

It is the object of the present invention to provide arunning gear for aeroplanes which is so disposedthat the in can be put out i of sight, and thus out o the path of movement of the aeroplane, after the machine has arisen from the ground, so as to reduce the head resistance of the moving body to a minimum. I

It.is also an object to construct an aeroplane running gear of the type mentioned which can be raisedout of the way, that is from a position below the machine to a positibn into the frame thereof, without dis turbing in any appreciable degree the equilibrium or unduly shifting the center of gravity. This is especially to be .avoided in a machine which is flying through the. air, and it is always while the machine is In the case of the running flying that it is desired to dispose of the running gear. 3

It 1s likewise an object of the invention to provide a running gear which is readily and quickly drawn out of the wind and is always under the.operators control, both for rai'sing and lowering the gear, and. it is furthermore the object to construct the running gear operating mechanism in such operative relation to the engine and operator that it may be actuated either by the engine sired to free the machine of all extra paraphernalia for racing purposes, or similar occasions. With the objects asstated in view, the de-' vice will be hereinafter fully set forth and described, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings, in which, Figure 1 is a side elevation of. a portion of an aeroplane, showing my improved running gear, applied thereto, Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation on the line 22 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail view. of .the ,Wheel supports or springs, and Fig. 4 is a detail view of the actuating mechanism for raising and lowering the running gear. Fig. 5 is a front view of Figs .4.

Referring now more particularly to said drawings 1 denotes the upper'longitudinal members and 2 the lower longitudinal mem- Ordinarily,

wheels of the running gear, as will 'hereinthe running'gear is suspended and in which the actuating gear is mountedand into which the wheels are adapted to swing. Said after appear. j Behind the engine, which is' 1 "not here shown, and in front of the driverls seat 6, is located a chamber c below which 11 0 machine now constructed, occurs about three chamber 0 is suitably located between two of the vertical bars orbraces 3, and, 1n the feet from the front end of the inonoplane. This distance, of course, will .vary with the machine to which the gear is applied, is determined by the center of gravity of the machine.

Mounted substantially in the same angular relation to the beam 2 as the brace-bars 3, are the uprights 4, whose upperends are suitably secured to the cross-bars 5, WhlCh span the aforementioned brace-bars 3. The lower ends of said uprights 4; are carried by the beam 2, and in this manner,'the outlines and supporting frame of the chamber 0 are formed.

Spanning the beam 2 and overlapping the lower ends of the uprights 4 is a yoke 6,

which is or may be bolted to theframe or fuselage through said beam or bar 2 and the uprights 4. Said yoke 6 is provided with trunnion arm 7, to which the spring arms 8 of the running gear are journaled. The

- bearing opening in the ends of the arms 7 extend longitudinally so that when the bearing spindles of the spring arms 8 are. journaled therein the latter are pivotally mounted to swing upwardly and downwardly laterally of the machine. Said spring arms 8 are peculiarly constructed to serve their present purposes, as will be best seen in Fig. 3. A continuous sheet of narrow strip metal is bent upon itself in three laps, as follows: Beginning atthe inturned end 9, the strip extends substantially horizontally as at 10, to begin the formation of a socket, as will appear. Turning upwardly at approxi mately a forty-five degree angle, the strip is carried up as the leaf or member 11, to the desired length of the spring arm, and is then looped downwardly and back upon itself to form the eye or bearing 12. The leaf or member 13 then continues downwardly along the leaf or member 11, follows around the portion 10, over end 9.. It is then turned back over end 9 as portion 9 and carried as leaf 14 to the upper side of leaf 11 and is continued as far as desired or needed to give the requisite strength to the arm. A wedgeshaped space 15' is thus formed at'the lower end of the spring arm 8, into which the suitably formed end of a wheel spindle 16 is projected and secured, as by bolt 17 the end .9 and the overlapping leaf portion 9 being drilled to form a socket therefor. It is evident that the spring arm construction is not limited to three laps of the metal, as shown, but that any suitable or required number of laps may be employed, and it is likewise evident that/the socket and spindle construc- -tion may" be varied from that shown in f the metal strlp.

shape an manner of lapping the several portion I Suit a; le wheels, 18, as, for mstance, w1respoked motor vehicle wheels, are mounted on the spindles 16, and, when the spring arms 8 are fixed in the" solid line position of Fig. 2 in the manner hereinafter described, said wheels, together with the skid l9,support the aeroplane above the ground in position for instant flight. Said skid 19 consists of a tubular member having the rear end thereof attached to the beam' 2 at a point in the rear of the chamber 0 and preferably at the rear of the drivers seat, and

extending therefrom to a point below the propeller 20, when said member curves upwardly and forwardly to form a shoe 21. Brace.v members 22 extend from said shoe-21 to the upper part of the .fuselage and are connected to the bars or'beams 1. They are further connected by a cross bar extending each side from the member 2. Said skid thus supports the forward Weight of the machine and engine on the fuselage. It furthermore prevents damage to the propeller in landing and tends to throw the machine into proper landing position so as to give to the wheels 18 a suitable approach to the ground. Flexibly attached to the front and rear edges of the spring arms 8 and 8', at points near the spindles 16 thereof, are fore and aft bracing cables 23 and 24 respectively, the opposite ends of said cables being carried to and suitably fastened to the members 22 or to the frame. The skid 19 is removably connected to the frame of the machine so. that provision must be made for guying the spring arms when said skid is removed, as for racing purposes. Thus, the guy wires 23 are normally fixed to the brace bars 22, but when the latter are removed, the guys are adapted to be suitably connected to the lower bar 2 of the fuselage,

the preferred position at that time being indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1, at 23. Said cables are raised and lowered by and with the spring arms 8 and 8, so that the latter are at all times braced against front and rear strains.

- The raising and lowering mechanism for the spring arms consists of certain peculiarly arranged cables and a winding device for actuating said cables. One cable 25 is permanently swiveled to the spring arm 8 at d, and extending thenceto a pulley e in the upright 4:, from whence it extends to the drum 26 and is passed therearound with an undershot turn 01' turns. 'It is suitably fastened to the drum 26 and then continues to a pulley g mounted in'the upright From the pulley g the cable passes to and through a second pulley h in the spring arm 8 and thence to a suitable fastening near-the point (Z or the arm 8. The cable 25 passes through a somewhat similar though opposite course, as follows :Starting at d on arm 8' it extends through. pulley e on upright 4 and from there to the drum 26 by way of the pulley f. After extending around a second groove of the drum 26, and being fastened therein, the cable passes from the top there:

'- of through the pulley g, thence on pulley h in the,arm8 and to the corresponding final fastening on the sprin arm=8.

It will be noted that the i'ght of cable. 25

is wound on its drum section or'groove with under-shot turn or turns, and that the bight.

10 of cable 25 is wound on its drum section or groove with overshot turns. By this arrangement,.a single drum can be employed to actuate the arms 8and 8' simultaneously, whether the desired motion of said arms be up or down. A crank 28 is provided for actuating the drum 26. To raise the arms 8 and 8, and thereby the running gear of the machine intolthe frame or fuselage the crank 28 is operate by the driver, said crank being disposed 11 position to be easilyfreached from the drivers seat, and thereby the cables, being actuated by the drum 26 steadily and evenly draw the arms upwardly until the wheels 18 swing into the chamber 0 ,5 above the cross bars 5, as is shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. .Attention iscalled to the fact that each cable '25 and in its return from its respective drum section passes over a bearing pulley mounted in the opposite 30 spring arm. .In this vmanner, the spring arms are continually braced in the'opposite lateral directions no matter what the positions of the arms, and, when the wheels 18 are resting on the ground, the arms cannot spread by reason of thefltwo transverse.

chords 2' and j of the cables 25 and 25", the spring arms 8 and 8', however, furnishln'g anyunecessary resilience or give required of the gear in landing.

40 Any suitable clutch mechanism may be installed in the apparatus for locking the shaft 27 and the. drum 26 in the desired positions, either to hold the running gear in raised'or lowered position. A preferred form of clutch device 1s shown in Figs. 4 and 5. The drum 26 is (provided with a series of radially exten ing peripheral notches or key-ways 29, which are adapted to be engaged by the key 30, which is mounted on a transverse shaft 31. Said shaft 31 is suitably carried in .gearings (not shown) mounted on the platform of the machine in front of the drivers seat, and is rotatable by means of a foot pedal 32 having link and crank connections with said shaft. A cpil spring 33 is mounted on said shaft 31 to normally press the key against the drum 26 in ositlon to engage the key-ways 29, so that the drum will be normally locked. By pressure on .the pedal 32 the key w1ll be disengaged from the drum 26 against the action of said spring and the drum can be rotated. Instead of the key 30, a cam or eccentric of suitable form can be mounted on the shaft 31 to engage the key-ways,

cupants.

.and disconnecting means may be provide for causing the engine to actuate the running gear.

v The ogeration of the present invention has been su ciently clearly brought out in the course of the description thereof, and no rehearsal of the-former is necessary at this time, but it may be further noted that the wheels, as is clearly shown in Fig. 2, are practically placed out of sight in the frame, and that the'spring arms 8 and 8 lie close to the under. sides of the latter, and, by reason of the mechanism described, even cables 25 and 25"are drawn into the machine. 3 It is clear from the above presentation, that my improved running gear permits a ready and eflicient dis osition of the landing devices after the machine has risen into the air, and that this disposition of the gear is effected without danger to the machine or a without disturbing the equilibrium of the latter. The apparatus is light and effective, and while possessing all the strength ne ces-. sary to permit even a rough landing of the machine, also ossesses such qualities of resilience and exibility as will render the landing safe and easy to the machine-and oc- While the preferred arrangement of the cables has been shown and described herein, I do not contemplate the described arrangement as the only one which-will answer the purposes of the invention, and other runs of the cables whereby the spring arms are 5 braced, in their lowered positions, against outward lateral spreading, and are adapted to be raised and lowered by the same cable may be used within the limits of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. A running gear for aeroplanes, com prising in combination with an aeroplane frame, swinging arms mou nted on said 5 frame, cables connected to each of saidanms and having a variable connection with the opposite arm, and means for actuating said cables to raise. and lower said arms, said cables at all times bracing said arms across 2 said frame.

2. A running gear for aeroplanes, comprising in combination with a frame, laterally swi'nging arms mounted on said frame, cables connecting said arms below and across 25 said frame, and means to actuate said cables and to lock the latter, whereby said arms are raised and lowered or braced against spreading.

3. A running gear for aeroplanes, comprising in combin ation with a frame,- laterally swingmg arms mounted on said frame, a controlling means in said frame, and cables connected to said controllin means in operative manner to brace sai arms against spreading or to raise and lower. the latter.

4. A runnin gearfor aeroplanes, comprising in com ination with a frame, arms pivotally connected below said frame, controlling means mounted in said frame,

wheels-carried by said arms, and cables hav-' a cable secured by its ends to each arm and having a sliding connection withtne upposite arm, each cable also having its bight passed across said frame and operatively connected to said controlling means.

6. A running gear for aero lanes, comprising in combination, with a rame, a yoke secured below said frame, arms pivotally carried by said yoke to swing laterally up; ward'and project their free ends into said frame, a cable secured to each arm and having a sliding connection with the opposite arm and passing across said frame, and a winding device mounted in said" frame and having operative connections with said cables to raise and lower said arms.

7. A running gear for aeroplanes, comprising in combination with a frame, spring arms pivotally connected to said frame,

cables connected to said spring arms to prevent said spring arms from spreading laterally in their lower-most positions, and a drum operatively connected to said cables to' raise and lower said spring arms at will by means of said cables.

8. A runn ng gear for aeroplanes, commeans bracin prising in combination with a frame, spring arms pivotally connected to said frame and adapted to swing laterally upward against said frame, cables connected to said spring arms to brace them against spreading in their lower-most positions and means for actuating said cables to raise said spring arms out of their lowered positions at will.

9. A running gear for aeroplanes, comprising in combination, with a frame, spring arms pivotally connected to said frame and adapted to swing laterally upward against said frame, cables connected to said spring arms to brace them against spreading in their lower-most positions and means for actuating said cables to raise said spring arms out of their lowered positions at will, said spring arms consisting of, a plurality of laps of a continuous metallic strip. 10. A running gear for aeroplanes, comprising in combination, with a frame, spring arms pivotally connected to said frame and adapted to swing laterally upward against said frame, cables connected to said spring arms to brace them against spreading in their lower-most positions and means for actuating said cables to raise said spring arms out of their lowered positions at will, said spring arms consisting of a spring member and trunnion formed of a plurality of laps of a continuous metallic strip.

11. A running .gear for aeroplanes, comprising in combination with a frame, laterally swinging arms mounted on said frame, said arms against fore and aft strain, .c'a les connecting said arms below and across said frame, and means to actuate said cables and to lock the latter, whereby said arms are raised and lowered -or braced against spreading apart.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK MeoARR-oLn Witnesses: J. B. DIXON,

'E. B. MCLAIN. 

